Grapevine

By Al Jazeera
Jul 30, 2024

What is the Golan Heights and who controls it?

The rocky patch of land, which under international law belongs to Syria, is where the latest tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have exploded.

Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah are locked in a tense standoff after a rocket attack on the Druze town of Majdal Shams killed at least 12 people, many of them children playing football, and wounded 30.

The Israeli military accused Hezbollah of carrying out Saturday’s attack, an allegation denied by the group. Israel has fired a series of missiles into Lebanon since then despite growing international calls for restraint amid fears of an escalation into a full-blown war.

At the centre of this latest tension is a patch of land 1,800sq km (700sq miles) in size that has long been a flashpoint in the Levant: the Golan Heights.

What is the Golan Heights?